Metallic railway-rail tie.



H. A. BEACH &'J. D. CUNNINGHAM.

METALLIC RAILWAY RAIL TIE.

APPLICATION FILED IAB.. l, 1909.

Patented July 6,1909.

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UNITED sTATEs PA TENT oEEIcE.

HARRY A. BEACH AND JONATHAN D. CUNNINGHAM, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

METALLIC RAILWAY-RAIL TIE.

To all whom it "may concern:

Be it known that we, HARRY A. BEAcI-I and JONATHAN D. CUNNINGHAM, citizens of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway-Rail yIies; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanyingI drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhis invention relates to the type of metal-I hc ties that are adapted to be detachably connected to railway rails so as to be readily removable from the rails and the road bed, the invention having reference particularly to built-up ties that are adapted to be strong without being undesirably rigid, and yet be relatively light in weight so as to be adapted to be cheaply produced.

The object of the invention isto provide an improved metallic railway rail tie that will be adapted to be constructed at the minimum cost while being reliable and adapted to `hold the rails securely and support them in the desired manner, and permit `the rails or the ties to be readily removed for the purpose of repairing the roadway; a further object being to provide a tie of the abovementioned character' that will be economical in use.

Fil ith the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in an improved metallic rail tie comprising a hollow portion in which supporting' rail clamps are mounted movably, and provided with operatingI and controlling devices whereby the rails may be locked to the tie detachably, and the invention consists further in certain novel features of construction, and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter' particularly described and then defined in the accompanying claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the improved tie talren approximately at the plane of the line A A in Fig. 3 with rails clamped thereon; Fig. 2, a top plan of the improved tie with the clamps in their normal closed positions; Fig. 3, a horizontal sectional view at the plane of the line B B in Fig. l with the clamps in normal. positions; Fig. 1l, a transverse sectional view on the plane of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 1, 1909.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Serial No. 480,697.

the line O C in Fig. 1 5 Fig. 5, a 'transverse sectional view on the plane of the line D D in Fig. l g Fig.` 6, a perspective view of a pair of the rail clamps, Fig. 7, a side elevation of the tie with the clamps opened to receive the rails g `and Fig. 8, a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view at a plane near the line A A in Fig. l.

Similar' reference characters in the various figures of the drawings indicate corresponding elements or features of construction referred to herein.

The improved tie comprises two similar principal parts, one part having a base l, a web 2 and a body or head part 3, the other one of the two principal parts having a base 1.', a web 2 and a body or head part 3, and the two principal parts are placed together and the Webs 2 and 2 secured together by means of bolts as 4, a', so that the two prin.-

cipal parts forni the tie proper with a hollow upper portion or head part, the parts 3 and 3 being concave-convex with their convex surfaces outermost, the complete tie in cross section having a contour substantially like that of a T-form railway rail, the bases l and 1 forming base flanges. 'lho principal parts of the tie maybe formed of any suitable metal, either rolled or cast and of suitable length to afford the desired support for the rails. The end portions of the web of each tie have apertures 5 anc 5 therein in which hooks may be inserted for drawing the tie on the ground or out of the road bed ballast, or to facilitate the insertion of the tie under the rails when making repairs.

rl'he top of each tie has two apertures 6 and 6 therein at a suitable distance apart in which the rails are to be seated and which determine the gage of the track. ri`he middle portion of the tie has an aperture 7 vin the top thereof through which access may be had to the devices for operating the rail clamps. Relatively narrow recesses 8 and 9 extend from opposite sides of the aperture 6 and similar' recesses S and 9 extend from opposite sides of the aperture 6 to receive the clamp jaws of the rail clamps when they are opened.

Four similarly formed rail clamps as l() and 1]. assembled and operating as a pair for one rail, and l2 and 13 assembled and operating as a pair for the other rail are provided, the rail clamps being adapted to be guided in the hollow head part of the tie and supported on the top of the under portion thereof, the tops of the body parts of the rail clamps being slightly below the upper side of the top of the tie or flush with the under side of the top so that the railsl shall rest thereon and be firmly supported in the apertures 6 and 6. The rail clamps 10 and 11 have clamp-jaws 14 and 15, respectively, on opposite ends of the tops thereof, and the clamps 12 and 13 have similar clamp-jaws 16 and 17 respectively, 'on the tops of opposite ends thereof, the jaws being adapted to engage the tops of the rail flanges so as to draw the rails tightly to the bodies of the rail clamps. The bottom yof the end of each rail-clamp that Vhas a jaw thereon preferably has a guide projection 18 extending longitudinally so as to afford ample guiding surface with the minimum amount of weight. Each pair of rail clamps as 12 and 13 have recesses 19 and 2() therein respectively, the recesses being opposite and adapted to receive connecting rods land permit the-clamps to move relatively i-n contact side by side.

Adpair of pivot blocks 21 and 22 are secure on the inner side of the wall of the hollow body or head part of the tie, being attached tothe parts 3 and 3', respectively, or obviously may be formed integrally thereon, and are arranged a suitable distance apart near the middle -of the length lof the tie, a pair of levers 23 and 24 being connected lbetween their ends to the pivot-blocks by means of pivot-pins 25 and 26 respectively, oneend of each lever being longer than the other end thereof measured from its supporting pivot, and the longerend is adapted to swing out of the aperture 7 or to be moved downward through the aperture and to spring under the edge of the upper portion of the wall of the hollow part thereof adjacent to the aperture 7. Two connecting -rods 27 and 23 are lconnected to the lever 23 at opposite sides of the pivot thereof and are also connected to the rail clamps 10 and 11 by pivots 29 and 30 respectively, so that when the lever 23 is opera-ted the rail clamps will be moved in opposite directions.

Two rods 31 and 31 are secured in the hollow portion of the tie and extend horizontally from side to side and serve to limit the Adownward movement of the levers 23 and 24 and on which the leve-rs rest when in normal positions. The rods also serve to bind the two parts 3 and 3 together, and obviously other rods also may be employed if desired for binding the parts together. Two other connecting rods 32 and 33 are connected to the lever 24 at opposite sides4 of the supporting pivot thereof and are connected also to the rail clam s 13 and 12 by pivots 34 and 35 respective y, so that when the lever 24 is operated the rail clamps will be moved in opposite directions.

vThe top of the tie is provided with a pair f of hinging ears 36 and 37 near the ends of the aperture 7 and have a hinge-rod 33 therein by which a cap or cover 39 is hinged to the tie and adapted to cover the aperture 7, the tie having a projection 40 thereon adjacent to .the aperture that is engaged by a lip 41 formed on the under side of the cap, the lip being adapted to be forced into engagement with the projection, or forced out of engagement therewith to release the cap, and the under side of the -cap has a projection 42 thereon adapted to enter the aperture 7 and extend between the ltwo levers 23 and 24 to hold them in engagement with the under side of the upper portion of the wall of the tie, so that the levers will be securely locked in their normal positions.

rlhe two rails 43 and 44 forming the track are shown in their proper positions in connection with the tie.

ln practical Ause the cap 39 should be released and swung back on its hinge so as to uncover the aperture 7, after which the levers 23 and 24 may be released by suitable implements and forced out of the aperture, which will cause the rail-clamps to be vmoved so that the jaws will clear the flanges of the rails, which positions are shown in Figs. 7 and 8, after which the rails may be placed lupon the bodies of the rail-clamps, `and then the levers may be `forced down to their normal positions and locked, which will result in the rails being firmly clamped to the tie by means of the clampjaws, and as will be readily lunderstood the gage of the track will be maintained accurately by reason of the fact that the rail flanges will engage the metal of the t-ie at the sides of the apertures 6 and 6 while being prevented from dislodgment by the rail clamps.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is-

1. A rail-tie including a hollow body part having two apertures in the wall of the upper portion thereof, two pairs of rail-clamps mounted slidingly on the lower portion of the wall and guided .against the upper portion of the wall of the body part for supporting rails thereon, each rail-clamp having a clamp-jaw on the top of one 'end portion thereof projecting through one of the apertures to engage the rails, and means for locking the rail-clamps in the body par-t.

2. A rail-tie including two principal par-ts having each a base and a web and also a concavo-convex curvedbody part, the webs of the two parts being `secured together and the body parts forming va hollow tie-body part, the top of the tie-body part having two apertures therein, two pairs of railend portion thereof, and, means for looking the rail-clamps in the hollow tiebody part.

3. A rail-t1e including base iianges and a web thereon, and a hollow body part on the web and having two apertures in the upper portion of the wall thereof, two pairs ol. railolarnps mounted movably in the hollow body part at the apertures therein and having eaeh a clamp-j aw thereon, and a pair of levers mounted in the hollow body part and connected with the rail-clamps, a lever to a pair of the rail-elamps for the operation thereof, and. means for looking the levers to prevent operation thereof.

4. A rail-tie comprising two principal parts having each a base and a Web and also a concave-convex curved body part, the webs of the two parts being secured together and the body parts forming a hollow tiebody part, the top of the tie-body part hav ing two apertures therein and having also two pairs of rail-clamps mounted movably therein at the apertures, each rail-clamp having a Clamp-j aw thereon and having also a connecting rod pivoted thereto, the tiebody part having also a central aperture in the upper portion ol the wall thereof, two levers pivoted in the tie-body part and having ends that are movable through said eentral aperture, one lever being connected to the connecting rods of one pair of rail-clamps and the other level' Connected to the oonneeting rods of the other pair of rail-clamps, means for looking the levers in the hollow tie-body part, and a @over for the central ap- 5 erture.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures m presence oi two witnesses.

HARRY A. BEACH. JONATHAN D. CUNNINGHAM.

Witnesses HARRY D. PIERsoN, E. T. SrLvIUs. 

